


Writer Boy

by reeby10



Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Pining, Pinto de Mayo 2020, Pre-Relationship, although that doesn't figure much into this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24028447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reeby10/pseuds/reeby10
Summary: “Are you stalking Writer Boy again?” Sofia asked from behind him, startling him so much he banged his elbow on the espresso machine.“I’m not stalking him,” Zach said, flustered and trying to cover it up. “And his name is Chris. Which you know.”
Relationships: Chris Pine/Zachary Quinto, Sofia Boutella & Zachary Quinto
Comments: 11
Kudos: 29





	Writer Boy

**Author's Note:**

> This is unedited bc I was frantically writing and just wanted to get it up today, so I hope it's alright lol

Zach sighed, elbows on the counter and chin in his hands as he stared across the cafe at the corner where Chris was sitting, all attention on his moleskin as always. A mug sat at Chris’s elbow, barely sipped from. Today was an earl grey day, steaming hot with a little honey. Or at least it had been steaming half an hour ago when Zach prepared it for him.

“Are you stalking Writer Boy again?” Sofia asked from behind him, startling him so much he banged his elbow on the espresso machine.

“I’m not stalking him,” Zach said, flustered and trying to cover it up. “And his name is Chris. Which you know.”

“Sure, but it’s fun to see you turn red whenever I call him Writer Boy,” Sofia replied, grinning. She patted his cheek. “Or when he orders his drink. Or when you look at him across the cafe. Or really whenever he’s mentioned or seen at all. It’s cute.”

Zach harrumphed, but decided not to engage. Sofia would just keep teasing him until he died of embarrassment. Or had to go hide in the back room to calm down, which had definitely happened before.

“You should try talking to him one of these days for more than just his order,” she continued, before being distracted by a customer coming up to the counter.

She was obviously amused by his discomfort, but he knew she really had his best interests at heart. They’d become friends almost immediately when she came to work at the cafe. They got a lot of freshmen in every year since it was close to campus and offered a flexible schedule. Zach had never really made friends with any of them before since he was a grad student and he didn’t have a whole lot in common with those bright eyed kids.

But he and Sofia had become friends easily, and never ran out of things to talk about during lulls in their shifts. Often, as today, the topic of conversation was Zach’s ridiculous crush on Chris. The Writer Boy who liked to come in and write and let his drinks get cold from distraction.

“I’m gonna bring him another drink,” Zach said, a little surprised at himself. Sofia turned to him, eyebrows raised in surprise as well.

Usually he just waited for Chris to notice his drink was cold and come get another, but not today. Today Zach would take the initiative, just like Sofia kept suggesting, and maybe something could happen. At the very least, he’d get to see Chris’ beautiful blue eyes up close.

“Yeah, I’m going to bring him a drink and try to talk to him,” Zach repeated, trying to psych himself up. “It’ll be fine, right?”

Sofia smiled, rolling her eyes a little. “It’s going to be great, Zach. I just know it.”

He really hoped she was right. Well, at least she’d be there to comfort him if Chris shot him down. At least Chris didn’t seem the type of guy to throw a heterosexual fit, so at least Zach wasn’t too worred about that. There was plenty else to worry about instead.

It only took a couple of minutes to remake Chris’ now cold drink. Zach shared a look with Sofia, who smiled encouragingly at him and took a deep breath. Here went nothing.

Chris didn’t seem to notice when Zach approached, but he did notice when Zach set a new steaming cup of tea beside him. Chris startled a little and looked up from his moleskin, gorgeous blue eyes blinking wildly behind his black rimmed frames. He looked adorably befuddled, and Zach felt himself melt a little inside.

“I didn’t order another drink, did I?” Chris said, looking like he wasn’t quite sure whether he had or hadn’t in the middle of his writing fugue.

Zach shook his head, shifting a little from foot to foot, feeling suddenly self conscious. “It’s on the house,” he said. “I noticed yours got cold before you could drink it.”

“Oh.”

For a moment, Zach thought he’d gravely miscalculated and was going to excuse himself and probably go hide in the back room until the end of shift. Or perhaps just hide there forever, that sounded nice. Then Chris smiled, eyes crinkling up with happiness.

“That’s really nice, thank you,” Chris said, taking a sip of the drink and nodding in satisfaction. “Do you want to, uh, sit? If you can take a break, that is.”

Zach looked over at the counter to see Sofia giving him a very unsubtle thumbs up. He rolled his eyes, but smiled, and turned back to Chris, who was looking just as nervous as Zach was feeling. Somehow, that made him feel a lot better.

“Sure, I can do that,” he replied, and took the empty seat across from Chris. His heart was beating hard enough to beat right of his chest, but now it was more excitement than anxiety. “I’m Zach, by the way.”

“Chris, but I’m guessing you already knew that,” Chris replied with a bit of a self deprecating grin. “Since I’m here every day and I don’t think you’ve ever let the other barista take my order.”

He licked his lips, and Zach had a hard time looking away from the sight even as he flushed all over again at the implication. Not that Chris was wrong about that. He may have been a little… territorial about Chris, at least according to Sofia’s teasing.

“So does that make this a date?”

Zach almost choked in surprise at the question. “Yeah, if you want it to be,” he admitted with a somewhat embarrassed cough. Chris was still smiling at him, though, so the idea must not bother him too much.

“I think I’d like that,” Chris said, voice low and warm. And then, like the cheeky asshole Zach had always secretly thought he was, he winked one of those endless blue eyes of his.

Zach was pretty sure he was screwed, but he was also pretty sure he was going to enjoy every moment of it.


End file.
